In the House of the Hangman 1245

“Everything is
true,” he said. “Everything anybody has ever thought.” You fall asleep on the
couch with the TV on. You wake. You have a sense of intense lateness, even if
you aren’t even close to a clue what time it is. You feel a bit like Proust’s
traveler, everything’s asleep but you. And the television. You see the images
dance and try to make some sense of them. But then inside your head
there’s a whisper of Glissant: we clamor
for the right to opacity for everyone. One of the things I like best are
scars and / or grit and / or splinters of glass in the sand. Poles create
angles. In a trance dance, / raise your geranium / revolver. My shaved angles. “MY
HEAD FOR A SNOWBOARD” – yelled Alice. Top of Form. “My chesstboard, my
checkXboard?” – Dark Vador. “My Empire, your EMPIRE, hearts” – You’remyQueen
(lyrics). Lyrics. [ID-card] [ID-card] [ID-card] in fine. O thank you John! When
I ask Bing to translate this, I get “For those upon whom power is exercised, is
always a dewy naiveté”. Dewy naiveté? Is Bing genius or nuts? It’s not in the
original. Where does the perfect word dewy
come from? It always feels like an exceptionally stimulating atmosphere at
Goldsmiths. I’ll be back on Friday for a pair of seminars (with Michael Newman)
on Heidegger’s “Origin of the Work of Art.” “I gets up, I start beating on the
wall. I start saying stuff. … And I just let it rip. Ain’t never gonna stop.” But
I’m really not sure how to
write about Hilst. This book is basically about a widowed woman who lives under
the stairs in her house, has masks hanging in her window, and tries to scare
all the kids by yelling crazy shit at them: look
Hillé the face of God / where where? / look at the abyss and see / I don’t see
anything / lean over a bit more / only fog and depth / that’s it. adore HIM.
Condense mist and fathom and fashion a face. Res facta, calm down. And let’s
see now which of her sentences are appropriate to speak when I open the window
to the society of the neighborhood: your
rotten asses / your unimaginable pestilence / mouths stinking of phlegm and
stupidity / enormous behinds waiting their turn. for what? to shit into
saucepans / armpits of excrement / wormhole in hollow teeth / the pig’s woody.
OK. “In between surviving multiple point-blank-range assassination attempts and
a failed kidnapping in which he emerged alive from the burning wreckage of a
battleship his own air force had just bombed, Pibulsongkram decided that
Thailand needed noodles that would advance the country’s industry and economy.
After all, he had already changed the name of country from Siam to Thailand as
part of a series of mandates meant to shroud its people under a modernized Thai
identity. Forks and spoons would be used instead of hands. More European-style
clothing must be worn. Thai products should be preferred above all others.
Pibulsongkram wanted to create a new Thai diet while making more rice products
available for export. According to his son’s suppositions in the 2009 Gastronomica article ‘Finding Pad Thai’
the codified modern version may have originated in Pibulsongkram’s household,
perhaps the devising of the family’s cook. Its recipe was disseminated
throughout the country, and push carts were sent into the streets to make this
newfangled on-the-go meal available to the masses. To eat Pad Thai would be a
patriotic act. Thus was born the Volksnoodle for an emerging nation-state. The
name Pad Thai, however, negates the considerable non-Thainess of the dish.
Noodles were the domain of Chinese immigrants in Thailand, and pan-fried rice
noodles like Pad Thai likely arrived with them hundreds of years ago when
Ayutthaya had been the kingdom’s capital. The thin rice noodles used in making
Pad Thai is also similar to Vietnamese noodles, like the ones used in making
pho. It’s no coincidence that the Saen Chan noodle used in many Pad Thai
recipes took its name from Chanthaburi, an eastern province close to Vietnam
and Cambodia. Had Pibulsongkram been more purist about his nation-unifying
dish, Pad Thai should have been a clump of rice smothered and fried with fiery
Nam Prik chile paste, arguably the most Thai of all Thai food. His nationalist
ideals of Thailand weren’t deeply rooted in reverence for the past; they were
synthesized new from whatever was most expedient. His choice of a noodle dish
is all the more curious in light of his policies against the Chinese ethnic
population — immigration quotas, bans on Chinese associations, and the seizing
of Chinese businesses. Pibulsongkram had not only decided to curtail the
growing Chinese influence in Thailand (China, at the time, sheltered his
political rival) but also to subsume its culture under the Thai umbrella. He
would later choose to ally with the U.S. in its nascent war against communism,
and just a few decades later, GIs on R&R leave would be part of the first
wave of Americans to taste Pad Thai.” I’m not an expert on southeast Asian
history, but I do have some knowledge and this passes the smell test. It’s
really almost a prefect 20th century nationalist project, combining stealing
ideas from minority populations while demonizing those very people. Also, as the
article states, most of the Pad Thai served in the United States is an
abomination.

The exhibit will unveil to the public on May 10, and will explore the similarities between two Italian designers from different eras, inspired by Miquel Covarrubias Impossible Interviews written for Vanity Fair in the 1930s.

ACCESSORY DESIGNER: Anya Hindmarch, Rupert Sanderson, Tom Binns﻿The was celebrated in suitable style last night, with an A-list array of guests and the crme de la crme of the UK design scene.Leading the celebrity contingency was , who flew the flag for her eponymous label in a floor-skimming black gown with bejeweled shoulders. Victoria cut a strikingly similar figure to , who also opted for a long black dress with sweeping train, albeit her version was sheer and teamed with a signature little black blazer.But Moss wasnt just there to strike a pose: the fashionista was awarded the London 25 Award, a new accolade voted for by the public. She was presented with her gong by Vivienne Westwood and told the crowds, Wow! Lila is going to love this!The modeling world provided a slew of familiar faces, including supers Eva Herzigova, , , , Natalia Vodianova and , but it was a newcomer who scooped the covetable Model of the Year award - . The rock offspring, who fronted this years campaign for Hudson Jeans, took the time to thank her mother, Jerry Hall, calling the veteran beauty, (my) biggest inspiration.Burberry Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey scooped the much-coveted Designer of the Year award following the labels triumphant return to London Fashion Week in September, while the fashion house was also named Designer Brand of the Year.Topping off a year in the spotlight, and following her star turn in documentary The September Issue, Grace Coddington was awarded the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator.Representing the countrys best new talent, Holly Fulton and Peter Pilotto won the Swarovskis Emerging Talent Awards, while established talent was recognised too - John Galliano was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design award.﻿Today, the British Fashion Council has unveiled the shortlist for the 2008 British Fashion Awards.Supported by Swarovski, the ceremony will take place on 25 November and is set to be a glittering affair, packed with the industrys leading lights.The Awards celebrate the extraordinary talent within the British fashion industry as highlighted in this years nominees list, Hilary